To Rise Again

For River it was an incredibly long and stressful week at work, and it wasn't over yet by a long shot. He still needed to sit down and write out a speech for Mr. Donavan. 'Might as well get this done so I have one less thing to worry about. Can't have him looking bad up there now can we?' He set about getting everything ready for his night of writing. Going to the kitchen he grabbed a glass, a bottle of chilled red and a bag of pretzels and placed them on the table. After that he went and turned on the cd player to rotate through some of his favorite songs. That being done, he finally sat down at the table and turned on his laptop to begin writing a speech that needed to appear heartfelt and genuine. 'I hope this turns out the way he wants, never was any good at this sort of thing in school.'

{Start Speech}

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Let me introduce myself, I am Mr. Eithen Donavan, head of Wulphsbough and Associates. Thank you for coming out tonight in support of a worthy cause. We are all here for one reason and one reason only. That is to see that the young children and young adults have the help and support that they need and deserve. There are too many that go without. Too many that get lost in the cracks of the system. Too many that are just simply forgotten about.

Sanctuary is a group that was started up to support and offer a safe place for children and young adults who feel they may be at risk for abuse, neglect or abandonment. It also offers a place for those who need someone to talk to about whatever is going on in their lives that may be stressing them to the point of self-harm. It is Sanctuary's goal to help as many of these kids as they can, but they can't do it all on their own. They need people that care, people that want to make a difference in the lives of the children who seek them out. With your help, and the help of companies like my own, they can branch out into more parts of the state and offer their services to more of the at risk youth of our country.

Please, ladies and gentlemen, look in your hearts. Think of how you would feel if it was one of your own. You would want them to have a safe place to go, and that is exactly what Sanctuary offers. A safe place that will welcome any and all that are in need. This will not just be a place for the economically challenged or down-trodden. It will provide a safe and secure location for ANY child that needs the love and support that they do not receive at home or elsewhere.

If you should have any questions there is a number listed on the information packet located on all of the tables. Once again, thank you for coming out tonight in support of a cause that I feel is beneficial to so many.

{End Speech}

'Thank God that's over, I always did hate trying to write shit like this. Let alone for someone else. Let's just hope it is up to Mr. I Think Too Much of Myself Donavan's standards.' River stood up and stretched after sitting there for a few hours trying to make sure the speech was just right. Looking at the clock on the wall he noticed that it was going on midnight. He gathered up his glass and the half empty bottle of wine and took them into the kitchen. He would clean up after he got back from his morning run.

Saturday morning, River slept in for the first time in what felt like years. He rolled over and looked at the alarm to see that it was just after 9:00. 'No wonder I feel so rested' he thought. River decided to skip his run today and just relax around the house for a change, after the week he had. Getting up he took care of personal matters before heading into the kitchen and cleaning up his mess from the night before.

Sitting there at the table with coffee in hand, he started thinking again about his baby girl. The house just wasn't the same without her running around and leaving a trail of toys in her wake. He missed her good morning kisses and her sweet little laugh when he would grab her up and make her fly through the house. Raivyn was his life, daddy's precious angel. He would give anything to have her with him. He needed to find where his ex took off to so he could get his daughter back.

River didn't even realize that he had been crying as he sat there, until he noticed the tears that had fallen from his face and hit his hand. He had to get out, he had to get his mind on other things. He went and got dressed and headed out for a day of mindless running around.

******

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of town in a large house that overlooked the lake, Eithen sat at his desk going over reports from his betas. He really hated all the paperwork that accumulated during the week while he was in town playing the normal human. Eithen was also starting to get frustrated that he hadn't heard anything back yet on the River situation. He knew that something in that report would let him know what had caused his P.A. to change over the last few months. River was never one to talk about his personal life at work, he came in did his job and went home. Eithen actually knew very little about him, other than what was in his employment file. But, the one thing that Eithen did know was that River needed help with something, and he was going to fix it whether River wanted it or not.

A knock at the door a few hours later brought Eithen out of his musings. Looking up, Eithen saw one of his runners standing in the doorway. Smiling, he said "Come on in Lonnie, what can I do for ya today?" "Excuse me for bothering you Alpha, but there is a package that has just arrived for you marked Urgent." Eithen got up and went around the desk to take what Lonnie had brought for him. Knowing that it would be the information that he had been waiting for concerning River. "Thank you Lonnie, and you didn't bother me a bit. In fact you just gave me a reason to stop working for the day." Eithen placed a hand on Lonnie's shoulder and gave it a squeeze before leading him out of the office and headed towards the kitchen in search of something to eat. Once they got to the kitchen, Lonnie bowed to his Alpha and bid him a good afternoon, before making his way out of the house.

Once he had his stomach satisfied, Eithen went back to his office holding the package containing what he hoped would let him help out River. Sitting down, he carefully opened and pulled out the report that was in it. Knowing that the change in River's behavior and personality started a few months ago, Eithen chose to start at the back of the report to see what was there. What he read there made him aware of some of the changes in Rivers' behavior, but it did not explain all of it. He had the money and the resources to locate this woman and then locate the child.

Eithen tried to figure out how any woman could do that. She takes off with her daughter just to turn around and give her away, when the father was already there taking care of her. Well, he was damn sure going to remedy that situation real quick. Grabbing up the phone he dialed yet another number from memory. "Donavan here...yeah....I need you to locate the whereabouts of one Ms. Angelica Laurentis, and I need her or that information within the next 24 hrs."

With that taken care of, Eithen started at the beginning of the report to find out what else he could about Mr. River Addison. Nothing really on the first couple of pages of any interest. The family seemed to keep to themselves. There was an incident that happened when River was younger that required them to move without any warning. Graduated at the top of his class from both high school and college. 'Always knew he was a smart boy,' Eithen thought.

Scanning over a few more pages he didn't see anything that stood out. 'Wait, what's this? Interesting, the company insurance pays for something called Sertraline? If I'm right that's an anti-depressant. Says here that he was on it before he even started for the company, so it has nothing to do with what has recently occurred. I wonder what happened to cause River to be on something like that? He doesn't come across as being depressed. He just seems to lack the self-confidence that he once had.' Eithen decided that there was still a lot he needed to learn about River and the only way to really do that was to actually befriend him. 'Shouldn't be too hard', he told himself.

******

River wasted the day just running around and doing nothing, but it managed to keep his mind off of his problems for awhile. Once he got home, he decided that he really didn't want to be alone tonight. At least not right now anyways, so he showered and headed out to his favorite little bar where he could just sit and drink his worries away. River walked in and nodded to the bartender while taking a look around to see that the place was fairly empty like usual. That was what he liked about this bar, it never got crowded. He sat on the stool at the counter and paid for his beer, closing his eyes enjoying the cold rush he got from that first swig.

River had been sitting there for about 20 minutes when he was approached by a woman he would consider to be a hottie. She was tall with long sensuous legs, small perky breasts, dark auburn hair that went to her waist and an ass that was made for grabbing. There was just something about her that drew him in as she sat next to him. She placed her order and cast a sideways glance towards River with a shy smile on her full pouty lips. They started talking about nothing important and had a few more drinks. After about an hour of idle chit-chat she suggested that they go back to her place.

'What the hell', he thought to himself. It had been at least 6 months since he was with anyone and it was time he got some relief. He never did the bar pick-up routine, but like he thought before, there was just something about her. They paid their tabs and walked out to catch a taxi back to her place. Hands were wandering on the ride there, and by the time they got to her apartment they were both more than ready.

As soon as River was in the door she had him pressed up against the wall and was trying to devour him. She bit down on his bottom lip and forced her tongue down his throat. He needed to get control of this situation, he needed to show her how good it could be. They managed to make it to the bedroom unharmed as they stripped out of clothing without ever really losing contact. By the time they reached the bed they were both naked and River backed her up until she fell on her back and he lay on top.

There was nothing gentle or loving about what happened in that bedroom. It was hard and fast. River had her screaming and begging for more. And he gave her what she wanted and then some. After they had their first release, he gave her a few minutes before he flipped her over and got a look at that ass that he just had to slide into. She was unsure about what he wanted to do next, but he managed to persuade her with little touches in all the right places.

River placed the head of his cock at her entrance and started to rock back and forth, teasing it open to allow him in. Once River got the head to pop in he gave her a few minutes to adjust to his invasion, until he noticed her moving her hips. He held nothing back after that point. He was in heaven, a hot, tight heaven. This was how he liked it. He couldn't hold back much longer. He could feel his orgasm building up fast. He reached around to make sure she would cum again with him. As he felt her muscles clench around his shaft he let go of his own release with a primal roar that sounded animalistic.

He pulled out as gentle as he could so as not to hurt her and went to get cleaned up and dressed so he could head home. He needed to get out of there. He got his release, but he felt unsatisfied. He managed to slip out while she went to clean up. That is why he never did the bar pick-ups. They were a quick fuck, and that was it. Nothing more. He liked to have some feeling involved in his sex. But he was not ready for a relationship after what Angelica did to him. Stupid bitch ruined his life by taking everything that mattered to him away. As soon as River got home he went in and scrubbed himself clean. Trying to erase what he just did. He felt dirty now. He crawled into bed and slept restlessly.

******

Eithen was awoken by the ringing of his personal line early Sunday morning. Grumbling he answered "this better be fucking good to wake me at this hour." What he heard on the other end of the line had him up and getting dressed in record time. "Anything else I need to know before I get there? Uh huh...ok....thanks." Eithen stormed out of the house and jumped into his truck heading for the safe house, where he was to meet with one Angelica Laurentis. 'That bitch better have a damned good reason for abandoning her daughter' he thought to himself as he sped to his destination.